(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – One way to avoid a road-side chat with law enforcement this holiday season is as simple as buckling up! The Alaska State Troopers will be out conducting extra traffic enforcement efforts to ensure the safety of Alaskans while they celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. While patrols will be focused on seat belt enforcement, troopers will also watch for impaired driving, speeding, aggressive driving, and distracted driving. The intention of the focused enforcement is to bring the number of major-injury or fatal collisions on Alaska’s roads down to zero.

Regardless of what your ultimate plans are for Thanksgiving, Troopers encourage you to always practice safe driving behaviors on the roads while traveling to and from your destination. If you are in a vehicle, you should always wear your seatbelt and encourage those around you to do the same. Children in vehicles should be properly restrained using the appropriate safety equipment whether it be a seatbelt, a booster seat or a car seat.

Alaska State Troopers Ending All Service to Girdwood in 2017

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – In lieu of the State’s fiscal realities, the Division of Alaska State Troopers lacks the resources to provide any level of patrol coverage inside a municipality with police powers and a fully functioning police department. In early 2017, AST intends to end all law enforcement services within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage, to include the stretch of the Seward Highway ending at milepost 75.

Troopers from AST's Bureau of Highway Patrol will continue to conduct traffic enforcement along the Seward Highway and handle motor vehicle collisions during shift hours. BHP troopers will not be available outside of their regular shift hours to provide backup support.

Girdwood, being within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage, is now serviced by the Whittier Police Department pursuant to its contract with the municipality.

In late October, AST provided a letter to the Municipality of Anchorage outlining the upcoming change and also discussed which agency has the primary responsibility for providing backup to Whittier PD in an emergency and also discussed the routing of 911 calls from the Girdwood area if the Whittier PD cannot be contacted.

AST is confident the Municipality can capably address these matters, however, no response has been provided.

ALET Class 16-02 Graduation

(SITKA, Alaska) – A class of 23, including five Alaska State Troopers, four Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and two Village Public Safety Officers, will graduate from the Department of Public Safety Training Academy in Sitka tomorrow 11/10/2016. The 1 p.m. graduation ceremony at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Tribal Community House concludes Alaska Law Enforcement Training (ALET) Session No. 1602. To get to this point, the 23 law enforcement students from around the state went through 987 hours of training in the 15-week basic ALET. The training incorporates intensive instruction in law enforcement-related topics, physical fitness and many scenario-based exercises – all designed to prepare entry level police officers, Village Public Safety Officers and Troopers for a successful career in Alaska law enforcement.

After graduation, the nine Alaska State Trooper recruits continue their training at the academy for an additional three weeks. This training session is often referred to as Trooper Basic. The trooper recruits receive more tailored and advanced training during this session in Alaska Wildlife investigations,
boating safety, survival, commercial fisheries enforcement, media relations, critical stress management, patrol rifle training and search and rescue. They are also exposed to additional scenario-based training events.
Upon completion of Trooper Basic, Trooper recruits will move to their first duty assignment in either Fairbanks, Soldotna, Kodiak, or the Mat-Su Valley and begin a 12-week Field Training and Evaluation Program. All Trooper recruits are expected to develop to the point of being able to perform all law enforcement functions independently. If successful, they will be promoted to the rank of Trooper upon the completion of their probationary period, which is generally 12 months from the start of the academy.